While previous work has provided a number of regulatory elements useful to affect gene expression in transgenic plants, there is still a great need for novel regulatory elements with beneficial expression characteristics. In particular, there is a need for regulatory elements that are capable of directing expression of transgenes in transgenic crop plants at high levels and in particular tissues, organs, or during specific developmental stages of plant growth.
Useful regulatory elements can be isolated from genes having a desired pattern and/or level of expression of the gene. For present invention inventors looked at the plant cuticle genes due to the function of plant cuticle gene in the nature. All plant cuticles contain waxes, i.e. highly lipophilic compounds that lie both within the cuticular matrix and on its surface as an amorphous film. These films render the plant surfaces hydrophobic. They prevent the formation of stable, macroscopic water phases and, hence, the germination of many plant pathogens. Regulatory elements from genes involved in wax production can provide unique expression pattern that can be utilized for modifying plant phenotypes by expressing transgene controlled by such elements.
One such gene involved in wax production is CUT1 which was described by Millar et al., Plant Cell, 5:825-838 (1999) and Fiebig et al., Plant Cell, 12:2001-2008 (2000). A rice CUT1 gene was used for isolating regulatory elements of the present invention to obtain a desired expression pattern of a transgene as presented here in.